Georgetown Law Students Selected as Immigrant Justice Corps Fellows

Georgetown University Law Center congratulates students David Wilkins, L'14 and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, L'14 on their selection as Immigrant Justice Corps Fellows.

The Immigrant Justice Corps awards the fellowships to law graduates and law clerks with tremendous talent and promise, and a demonstrated commitment to providing legal services for immigrants and the poor. The Hon. Robert Katzmann, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, originated the idea for the Immigrant Justice Corps after witnessing an alarming shortage of adequate legal representation for immigrants in his role as a federal judge. The fellows will work in New York City's leading non-profit legal services offices, representing immigrants with the most complex types of cases, such as deportation defense and affirmative petitions for victims of crime, domestic violence and human trafficking.

The fellowships were launched this year, and although the Immigrant Justice Corps currently operates exclusively in New York City, the organization aims to develop a model that can be scaled nationwide.

"Immigrant Justice Corps fellows will tangibly make a difference in the lives of non-citizens and their families, ensuring access to justice, facilitating the opportunity to live the American dream," said Judge Katzmann.

"We're very proud of David and Aaron, and their decision to use their Georgetown Law educations to seek justice for people who are too often rendered powerless," said Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor. "And of course we're incredibly grateful to Judge Katzmann and everyone at the Immigrant Justice Corps for working so tirelessly to meet an urgent need."

The Justice Fellowships run for two to three years and carry a $50,000 annual stipend. Georgetown Law has a long tradition of encouraging its students to pursue public service. The Law Center is founded on the motto that "law is but the means, justice is the end," and houses The Office of Public Interest and Community Service, one of the few stand-alone public interest career centers in the country.

About Georgetown Law

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world´s premier law schools. It is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law, and the faculty is among the largest in the nation. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end.